Deluzio Tours Montgomery Locks and Dam, PA's Biggest Recipient of Federal Infrastructure Law Funding
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received $857 Million from Infrastructure Law to upgrade the Ohio River Locks and Dam system
CARNEGIE, PA – This week, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) toured the Montgomery Locks and Dam along the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania—within Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. The site is the recipient of the Commonwealth's largest single-project (discretionary) allocation of federal funding from President Biden’s Infrastructure and Investment Act at a grant of $857 million.
Locks and dams are critical pieces of the waterway transportation of bulk commodities. The Upper Ohio River, where the Montgomery Locks and Dam are located, carries 15 to 20 million tons of goods through the river system each year. This activity is valued at more than two billion dollars.
Built in the 1930s, the Montgomery Locks and Dam requires modernization and maintenance to meet the demands of modern waterway transportation, and even a one-year closure would cost the U.S. economy nearly $180 million and would require more than 100,000 rail cars or 400,000 trucks to augment the load that would have passed on the rivers. The Upper Ohio Navigation Project seeks to make the necessary maintenance and modernization improvements without interrupting operations. This project also expects to bring more than 28,000 jobs to the region during construction and will continue to support 5,300 long-term jobs after the project concludes.
More photos are available for download here.
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